


A Long Way To Tipperary

by Tiny_Dragongirl



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Alternate Universe, Babysitting, Child Abuse, Gen, Past Abuse, Paternal Douglas, Special Guardians, flatmates, kid!Arthur, kid!Martin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-02
Updated: 2013-02-26
Packaged: 2017-11-23 10:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/621100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiny_Dragongirl/pseuds/Tiny_Dragongirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young!Douglas Richardson becomes the flatmate of young!Carolyn Knapp-Shappey. One of them wants to be a proper pilot and have his own life, while the other wants to leave her husband and start a new life with her son. None of them expects the situation to be a permanent one but when Douglas finds a little ginger boy and takes him home carried away by a sudden idea, things start to change...</p>
<p>(I had to trick their ages a bit, sorry.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Douglas put down the last box and looked around. It was a small flat with two rooms, a bathroom and an unimaginably little kitchen – a man in his twenties couldn’t wish for more. Well, maybe a man in his twenties wouldn’t wish for a not-exactly-thirty flatmate with a two years old son, but it was the best they could cook up.

Douglas met Carolyn in the bar where the woman worked on the evenings. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to pick her up, but they started to chat and soon it turned out that they could be quite good... well, fellow-soldiers. Maybe friends, if they don’t tease and mock each other to death first. Carolyn was a single mother, gaining money for her divorce. She played it safe – she wanted to keep her son, so she needed a job with a normal salary and a permanent address. She had a small flat from her first and short marriage (ruined by her own sister, as she confessed once), but she had to maintain it, which wasn’t that easy while she always had to buy food and clothes and more food for her quickly growing child and for herself. Oh, and don’t forget about babysitters. They were the most expensive among everything, and she had to pay them every night. When she met Douglas, Carolyn was on the verge of admitting that she really needed a helping hand.

Actually, Douglas needed a cheaper place to live than his previous sublet was. Also, as he was training for his CPL exams to become a proper pilot, he was free on his evenings. (First he made some so-called _medical research_ for a while, but then he left the nice-looking nurses for the pretty stewardesses and for the friendly blue sky.) So he offered a deal to Carolyn: he would be a lodger at a dead bargain but he could guarantee free babysitting for every evening and in urgent cases, except Saturday nights, because as a young lad he had to meet nice girls and date them sometimes, didn’t he? She accepted his terms, but she fought out a bit higher price than Douglas wanted. But in the end they succeeded in entering into a composition which roughly covered everybody’s desires.

Douglas put down the last box and looked around. His room was small but it seemed quite comfortable. Now he was only afraid of the babysitting part of the deal. He hated the idea of a noisy, untidy, tireless child, but he never dared to ask Carolyn because he was sure the woman would kill him for insulting her son.

However, when he met Arthur at last, all his fears simply slipped away. Douglas found him a calm, good little chap, very eager to play and discover the world, but perfectly quiet. Maybe a bit too quiet.

’He doesn’t talk much,’ Carolyn said and stroked the child’s hair. ’The doctors said he would be a silent kid but he would be okay. Never an Einstein, but I didn’t expect him to get the Nobel Price anyway.’ She paused, but after some quick thinking, she added,’ I mean, it’s absolutely normal if one doesn’t talk at this age. Boys are usually late, too.’  
’Would you like to talk about it now, or should we leave it for the time when we will be sitting on the kitchen-floor, drunken, making tearful confessions to each other?’  
’I am not planning to get drunk together with you, Douglas, thank you. I think I should tell it you now.’ Carolyn took a deep breath. ’It was not exactly an accident. Arthur got my husband… shortly ex-husband… up on his ears with… I don’t know, he was just toddling around! But Gordon became angry and pushed him over. Arthur fell very miserably and hit his head. The doctors said it was nothing grave, he just won’t be a genius. But.’ She paused and look upon Douglas very seriously. ’I thought I should tell you this now, because if you lay a finger on my son, you will leave this flat through the window. Understood?’  
’It never crossed my mind.’ Douglas nodded.

His first evening with Arthur was peaceful and quite nice. He never imagined himself as the typical paternal figure before, but a Douglas Richardson can deal with everything, even it’s the case of babysitting. It almost seemed to be easy. He made food, let Arthur play in the corner while he listened to the radio and read the newspaper, then, when it was time for bed, he picked up a book and read a story for him.

’Would you like to hear the story of King Arthur?’ He asked and opened the book. Arthur hummed happily. He often made little noises, like humming, crowing or babbling; he wasn’t completely silent. He just didn’t talk.

Life at the tiny flat began rather uneventfully. Douglas studied on the mornings, Carolyn worked on the evenings, and Arthur played in his little world happily. He managed to communicate with his mother on his own language, barely using proper words, while Douglas and Carolyn quite rarely met. They practically had shifts in the house, so they didn’t chat too much at the very start. They mostly ran into each other in the kitchen, usually on Saturday evenings – Douglas eating something before leaving for the night, Carolyn preparing something for dinner.

’I am almost happy that Arthur doesn’t talk too much,’ Carolyn said while she put her son in the high-chair. ’I am afraid the time will come when he starts to ask. And then he will never stop.’  
’He is a cheerful wee chap. Aren’t you, Arthur?’ Douglas tickled the boy’s feet, and Arthur giggled.  
’I am glad to hear it,’ Carolyn commented. ’But Douglas. You don’t have to be so domestic or soppy. I know you are an artful dodger, you can’t fob me off.’  
’Pleasure to live under one roof with you, Carolyn.’


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not a Christmas story. Christmas is over.  
> But still, I find this quite accurate:
> 
> "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer  
> Had a very shiny nose,  
> And if you ever saw it,  
> You could even say it glows.  
> All of the other reindeer  
> Used to laugh and call him names;  
> They never let poor Rudolph  
> Join in any reindeer games."

Weeks and months passed and they began to get used to each other. They made schedules and rules about the bathroom, the shopping, the cooking, the tales they read to Arthur, but none of them would have owned up to the fact that they’d become rather domestic. They never admitted that there were changes before the little ginger boy – they always said that if anything had started, it had started with Martin.

The case of a certain ginger boy called Martin started on New Year’s Eve.

It was after midnight but the biggest parties just began and Douglas decided to take a short cut across the park to the Old Dear Lover’s Eyes Pub where he wanted to greet some good, old friends and drink a pint or two with them. He was in a good humour, not completely drunken but no longer sober. The sky was a bit cloudy, and he could have easily escaped notice the little kid sleeping on a bench, if he hadn’t tripped over a root of an extremely big oak, landing next to the very bench. He immediately spotted the boy with bright red hair as it wasn’t a normal thing, not even on New Year’s Eve, that a child was sleeping in a park, on a cold winter night, absolutely alone. Suddenly every little thing he learnt at the medical school came to the forefront of his mind. _Check his breathing, check his pulse, check his temperature,_ a voice commanded in his head, _and for God’s sake, wake him up, before he freezes to death!_ Douglas gently shook the boy’s shoulders, and the child slowly started to come to himself. When he was fully conscious, he quickly drew apart from Douglas, and stared at the man with a scared, panicky look.

‘How do you feel?’ Douglas asked in undertones, trying not to frighten the kid. ‘Do you feel pain or anything?’ The boy slowly shook his head. ‘Can you feel all your body-parts? Fingers? Feet? Nose? Ears?’ The boy nodded. ‘Can you remember how many hours you spent here? Where are your parents? Somebody should take you to a doctor.’ The boy violently shook his head. Douglas sighed. Their conversation seemed to be quite one-sided. ‘You shouldn’t stay here. You _mustn't_. It’s late night, it’s cold and it’s New Year’s Eve when the streets are full of drunken guys. You should be at home.’ The boy shook his head so fiercely that his head almost slipped away from his neck. ‘But do you have a home?’ No answer, the boy buried his face into his hands. ‘I might be wrong but I should skip the home topic for now.’ He ran a hand through his hair and shivered. Suddenly he felt chilly and very sober. ‘But you must tell me, please, how do you feel?’  
‘Cold.’ The boy muttered. ‘And hungry.’  
‘Hungry. Hungry is good. This is something for a start.’ He stood up. ‘Come on, kid, you can’t stay here. You need a hot bath, something to eat and a warm blanket. Come on.’

The child slowly found his feet. He still looked very tiny, even on foot, around five or six years old. Tiny and skinny, constantly shaking. A quick glance was enough and Douglas stripped off his jacket and draped it over the little boy’s shoulder. ‘Here you are. And now, come on.’

They started to walk but they only reached the gate of the park when Douglas already knew that they couldn’t do it this way. The boy barely was able to walk.

‘This is not going to work.’ They stopped. Douglas bent down and looked into the child’s eyes. ‘I will carry you, if you permit me. How does it sound?’  
‘Won’t you take me back to...?’ He didn’t finish.  
‘I won’t take you anywhere you don’t want to go. Is it alright?’ The boy nodded. ‘Great.’ Douglas smiled and carefully enfolded the child in his arms. ‘My name is Douglas, by the way. What’s your name?’  
‘Martin.’ The kid mumbled so quietly that Douglas almost missed the name. ‘Merlin?!’  
‘No, it’s Martin.’  
‘Nice to meet you, Martin.’

They passed by the Old Dear Lover’s Eyes Pub. Somebody was singing about the awfully long way to Tipperary, but by that time Douglas didn’t feel the smallest intention to go inside.

‘You seem to be a quiet boy, Martin.’ He wanted to keep him awake until they reach the flat, and he tried to know a little more about the kid. ‘I live with a very silent boy, you know. He is younger than you and doesn’t talk much... well, actually, he doesn’t talk at all but he is a fine chap.’  
‘Is he... is he your son?’  
‘No.’ Douglas smiled at the thought. ‘He is the son of my flatmate.’  
‘What’s his name?’  
‘Arthur.’  
‘Arthur is a good name. Like a king’s name. But Martin sounds like a gnome. It’s just... ridiculous.’  
‘I bet you don’t like the tale of Snow White and the seven dwarves.’  
‘Do you like to bet?’  
‘Every Englishman likes to bet, Martin.'  
‘Can I... Can I bet, too? I mean... isn’t it forbidden?’  
Martin sounded like someone who was forbidden to do anything at all. Douglas decided to try something.  
‘Well, you can always bet me. For example...’ He started watchfully. ‘I bet you that you can’t name the seven dwarves.’  
‘I am afraid you would be right.’ Sighed the boy.  
‘No, no, no, Martin, listen. This is not how it works. Don’t bother about the fact that I am always right, just try your luck.’  
‘I am ridiculously unlucky.’ Douglas quickly made a mental note that somebody did a really hard work to assure Martin of being utterly ridiculous. ‘I bet that you had never met an unluckier person before.’  
‘That’s it, kid.’ Douglas smiled. ‘So, what was that about the seven dwarves...?’  
‘Are you trying to bet me?’  
‘Exactly. I offer you a deal. If you can’t name them all and I win, you will tell me something I ask. If you can name them and I lose, you can ask me.’

Arguing about dwarves and unfair bets they reached the flat. Douglas carefully put down Martin and opened the door but immediately stuck at the doorstep. In the kitchen the light was on, and Carolyn sat next to the table, reading a book.

‘Hello, Douglas. I didn’t expect you at such early hour...’ She noticed Martin who was hiding behind Douglas legs. ‘Who is this boy?’  
‘Hello, Carolyn. Can you name the seven dwarves?’  
‘What?’  
‘You know, the wee little friends of Snow White.’  
‘What are you talking about?’  
‘It was a very simple question. Can you name them or not?’  
‘Of course I can but...’  
‘Do it then.’  
‘What?’  
‘Martin is eager to hear their names.’  
‘Martin who?’  
‘Don’t be rude, Carolyn, please.’  
‘Alright, seven names for you before I kill you. Let me think... There is Sleepy, Loopy, Happy… er… Grumpy, Sneezy… wait a minute… Bashful and… and… and Doc!’  
’Sorry, Carolyn, but there is no Loopy.’  
’Okay, shut up, Douglas and tell me who is this boy.’  
‘I am afraid there happened to be a little loop in your logic.’  
‘Oh, you really should be afraid.’  
‘Carolyn, may I present Martin to you? Martin, this is Carolyn, my flatmate.’  
‘Actually, landlady.’  
‘Flatmate with a very strong self-confidence.’ Martin was still hiding and barely dared to look at the woman. ‘Carolyn, could you make a sandwich for Martin while I bathe him?’  
‘But...’  
‘Please.’

He quickly navigated Martin to the bathroom, leaving the gaping woman behind. ‘Don’t worry, she is not always like this. Well, she is always like this, but she is all right.’ While he spoke, he got out a towel from the wardrobe and placed it on the top of the washing machine. ‘You can use this, and you will find soap in the soap-dish. Do you need any help?’ The boy shook his head. ‘When you got through with the bath, come to the kitchen. I will be there. Just shout if you need something.’

In the kitchen he found what he expected: a bit ill-tempered Carolyn and three sandwiches on a plate.  
‘Let me guess. You are playing Grumpy, the dwarf tonight.’  
‘Explain. Now.’  
Douglas took a seat, while Carolyn opened the fridge to get the milk. She poured some milk into a glass and carefully placed it next to the plate.  
‘I found him in the park. He was sleeping on a bench, on the edge of freezing to death.’  
‘Parents?’ ‘Nowhere and he makes every effort to avoid the topic when I ask.’  
‘Which means?’  
‘Well, usually he stops talking. He is quite... shy.’  
'But he let you to take him here. He didn’t even know you and he...’  
‘Yes, I noticed.’  
‘It must be an awful place where he came from.’ She paused and carefully avoided eye-contact with Douglas. ‘He is a run-away child.’  
‘Yes.’  
‘His parents will look for him.’  
‘Yes.’  
‘You can’t keep him.’  
‘Carolyn, I just didn’t want him to die in a park! Actually, I don’t want him to die at all. He needs some sleep and needs to eat. When I found him, he was skinny, pale and as cold as a stone. I couldn’t leave him there.’  
‘I know, Douglas. I only said that he wasn’t a stray dog or a pet.’

  
Douglas opened his mouth to replicate with something smart, but a small whimper from the bathroom stopped him.  
‘Douglas...?’  
He sprang up and hurried to the bathroom. Martin stood next to the washing machine, slightly shivering under his towel and looking vaguely at his dirty clothes in his hands.  
‘Are you alright, Martin?’  
‘Yes, I am fine, absolutely fine, I just... I mean I am fine, just...’ The boy stammered. ‘It’s just... just... my clothes... my shirt...’ His voice faded, then died away.  
Douglas glanced at the awful state of the clothes, and sympathetically nodded.  
‘I can give you a clean T-shirt of mine for the night, if you like. I am afraid there is nothing of your size at home, but a T-shirt will do for tonight, and I think we should leave these for the washing machine.’  
‘I didn’t want them to be this dirty. I just... I wasn’t...’  
‘It’s alright, Martin.’ Douglas took the clothes from the child, went to his room, chose a particularly big and yellow T-shirt, then returned to the bathroom. Martin was standing on the same spot, in the same posture as he left him. ‘I hope this very _lemonish_ yellow won’t bother you.’ A bleak smile appeared on the kid’s face. ‘Well then, now put it on before you catch a cold.’

Martin turned his back on him, and carefully placed the towel on the washing machine. While he was occupied with dressing, Douglas stared at his back with a horrified look on his face. It was one thing that he could see and count the boy’s ribs one by one, and it was an other that Martin’s back was decorated with purple and black bruises, red scratches and various old scars. He was definitely not a lost child; he was a run-away child who tried to get away from abusing. He must have been beaten probably every day. Or every second day. Maybe that brute (possibly the father) who abused him had a schedule for his son: kicking on Mondays, slaps on the face on Tuesdays, belt on Wednesday... Douglas gritted his teeth in burning anger. He almost saw red and it must have been written on his face because Martin backed a few steps with a panicky look when he turned back.  
Douglas took a deep breath. He had to calm down if he didn’t want to make the boy feel threatened.  
‘As I heard, there are some friendly sandwiches waiting for you in the kitchen. If I were you, I couldn’t wait to meet them.’ He said, smiling encouragingly.

Carolyn made two more sandwiches, just in case, but Martin barely dared to touch them.  
‘You can eat them. All of them.’ She reached out to stroke the boy’s hair but then she changed her mind. She didn’t want to scare Martin, and the child already looked like a wild animal, waiting for the moment when he should start to run and hide from the hunter.

‘Carolyn, can I have a word?’  
They went to Douglas’ room. Carolyn sat down, into an armchair, and folded her arms in a very expectant way.  
‘Yes?’  
‘Martin must stay here.’  
‘Oh, God, don’t start again...’  
‘No. I mean it. I saw his back, and he was seriously abused. I bet his parents are some cruel and alcoholic fellows and they accidentally lost their son between two pubs.’  
‘You can’t know.’  
‘He is full of bruises and scars! I saw them! I can’t send him back.’  
‘Douglas, I understand your point. But...’ Carolyn took a deep breath. ‘You can’t simply keep him here. We will be arrested over kidnapping a child! He is a nice kid, yes, so take him to a doctor, to the police or the social services department, because this way it won’t work.’  
‘He will think I played him false.’ Douglas shook his head. ‘I know, I know. I will work it out, I will do something, but not tomorrow. Everybody will be asleep or hangover tomorrow, it wouldn’t do anything good. We can wait a few days. Don’t trouble yourself, he will sleep in my bed, and I will look after him in every way. This was the last time I asked you to make sandwiches for him, I will make everything all by myself.’  
‘You know that it’s not about sandwiches.’ She stood up and stretched herself. ‘Night, Douglas.’ She walked out, but she turned back from the doorstep. ‘I think I have a spare mattress in the big cupboard.’  
‘Good night, Carolyn.’

When Douglas returned to the kitchen, he found Martin fast asleep, his head rested on the table, next to a plate now with only one and a half sandwiches and an empty glass. He gently enfolded the boy in his arms, that night for the second time, and carried him to the bed. He tucked Martin in, and covered him with two blankets. Then he examined the ginger curls, the closed eyes, the little nose, the freckled face and the pale skin for a while, before he searched that mattress and went to sleep, too.

Martin’s first night was peaceful and calm. The problems started in the morning. He took a long, deep sleep without nightmares, but he woke up with a fever and a bad cough. He surely couldn’t leave the bed, so Douglas practically filled him up with hot tea and told long stories about Arthur, Carolyn and himself. Martin was eager to meet Arthur, but he couldn’t while he was ill, so he struggled to recover as soon as possible. He was still scared of everything and everyone, but in the warm bed, covered in pillows and blankets, wearing a yellow T-shirt as a nightgown, listening to the stories he almost felt to be familiar with the flat and its tenants.

‘How are you feeling tonight?’ Asked Douglas on the evening of Martin's very first day at Carolyn's flat, while he wrapped the boy carefully.  
‘Fine. I am fine. Bit tired, but fine.’  
‘Somebody is really keen on recovery. Your sickness is probably not infectious so if you won’t have fever or just a low fever tomorrow, you can get up and meet Arthur. How does it sound?’  
‘Fine.’  
‘I thought so.’ Douglas smiled, then sat down, next to the bed. He hesitated for a moment, not looking at the child, but examining his own hands. ‘Martin, tell me...’ He began slowly. ‘Would you like to stay with us? Here. For a... for a while.’  
‘Really?’ He asked with roundabout eyes. ‘I really could stay with you? Here?’  
‘Only if you want.’  
‘I would like to.’ The boy mumbled and disappeared under his blanket.  
‘Then you will.’ Douglas smiled and gently ruffled the ginger hair, the only visible thing of the child. ‘Now, that we have discussed it, it’s time to sleep.’ Martin’s head emerged again, and Douglas arranged his pillow and his blanket – again. Then he reached out to switch the night lamp off, but the move stopped halfway. He examined Martin’s face thoughtfully. For some time past the child dared to look into his eyes and didn’t give a start anymore when he touched him. Even that he only met Douglas not a day ago. He still looked a bit scared but with every minute he became calmer. Douglas knitted his brows. ‘Why do you trust me, Martin?’  
The boy smiled.  
‘Because you look like someone who can settle everything.’


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am trying to balance my writing skills and my English without being OOC. Guess which one will fall first.

Martin’s fever was soon gone but it gave place to something new: nightmares. Douglas got used to wake up for the least cry and whimper, then he woke the boy, helped him to calm down, and sat on the edge of the bed until Martin fell back to sleep. _I am a friggin’ mother hen,_ he rolled his eyes every time he tucked up the child, but he kept on getting up and never complained or mentioned it to anyone. He only changed his mind about talking to someone, when he had to call and shake Martin for at least two minutes before the kid could escape from his dream.  
‘No... Please, no! No! Mother!’ Martin was screaming and tears rolled down on his cheeks. ‘No, please, no, no, no, no, no...’  
‘Martin!’ Douglas was on the edge of shouting, when the child finally opened his eyes. He immediately shrugged and tried to fight against the grip on his shoulders, but Douglas didn’t release him. ‘It’s me, Martin. Just me. Douglas. It’s okay now. You are safe. Nobody can hurt you. You are here and I am with you and I will never let anyone to hurt you. Everything is all right, I swear.’ The boy was still trembling and snuffling, but he stopped to back away from the man. On the contrary, he clutched Douglas’ pyjama top and didn’t seem that he would like to lose hold of it very soon. ‘With me you are always safe. I will protect you from anyone who tries to harm you. But you need to trust me because I can help only if you let me know how could I. Do you trust me, Martin?’ The child nodded, and Douglas picked him up, gently placing him in his lap. ‘I think we should talk a little. Do you feel like it?’ Martin nodded, again. ‘Excellent. Can we start with your nightmares? It was the first time you called for your mother...’ The child shrugged wildly, but Douglas decided to go on. ‘If you would like to go back to her, tell me. I bet she doesn’t know where you are and she awfully misses you. We could find her.’ But the boy was shaking violently and sank into Douglas arms, trying to hide from the whole world. ‘Martin, what is it? What’s wrong? Please, tell me. Please.’ He slowly rocked the child, rubbing his back comfortingly. ‘Maybe it wasn’t my best idea. You are tired, aren’t you?’ He susurrated. ‘You need some sleep. It’s fine; you will sleep and tomorrow we will do something nice. Nice and funny. Everything will be alright. Now you are sleeping and dreaming of whatever you want. No monster can disturb you while I am here. Not a single one. I am here and I will be here in the morning, when you wake up... because you are sleeping...’  
‘I didn’t...’ Martin mumbled, fighting to keep his eyes open. ‘I didn’t call for my mother...’  
A vague suspicion popped up in Douglas’ mind, but he stored it for the morning - the morning when he would make a few phonecalls.  
‘It’s all right, Martin.’ He soothed the child. ‘Just try to go back to sleep.’  
‘Would you... would you sing? Please.’  
‘Of course. Is there something you would like to hear specifically?’  
‘That song about the long way. The long way to Topsyturvey.’  
‘All right, but that’s not Topsyturvey. It’s Tipperary.’  
He smiled at the boy, and started to sing in a quiet, calming voice. He didn’t even finish the first verse yet, when Martin was fast asleep again.

~’~

‘Martin, are you alright? Did you cut your finger or your hand?’ Carolyn asked but Martin was nowhere to find. Well, she had an idea where to find him in that not-so-big flat.

When Douglas announced that Martin’d recovered from his illness, she mentioned again the question of taking the boy to the police or at least to a doctor, but the man avoided the topic saying he needed to make some phonecalls. Then he decided to go to the town and she decided to make lunch. She asked Martin to help with laying the cloth and then the accident happened. Martin dropped a glass, it broke into a thousand pieces, Carolyn screamed and the boy was on the run.

She found him in Douglas’ room. Actually, she found a little, trembling ball with bright red hair curled up on the floor. She knelt down next to him and listened to the boy’s muttering.  
‘I am so-sorry. I-I didn’t do it on purpose, I am sorry... I know I am a twit... It was an accident, I am terribly sorry...’  
‘For God’s sake, of course it was an accident!’ Carolyn cried impatiently that gave Martin a jump. ‘You are not a _twit_ , so forget this nonsense, please! I don’t know who told you it, but this is simply rubbish. You are a good boy, things like this happen to everyone and it was only a stupid glass. Nothing special, not even someone’s favourite mug or the great-grandmother’s bowl, just an ordinary glass. I only shouted because I was frightened of the clashing and now I only ask you to try not to break another one because I don’t want you to hurt yourself.’ She took a deep breath. She wasn’t angry with Martin, of course, she was angry with his parents who made him this little frightened boy. ‘I am sorry for shouting. That glass really didn’t worth the fuss.’ She caringly stroked the kid’s hair. ‘Are you sure the splinters didn’t cut you?’ Martin shook his head. ‘Good.’ She slowly stood up and offered a hand to the kid. ‘I have found fish fingers in the freezer. Do you like them?’  
‘I love fish fingers!’ Martin’s eyes sparkled and he took Carolyn’s hand.  
‘Great.’ She smiled and they went back to the kitchen, where a very hungry and impatient Arthur was waiting for them.

~’~

After finishing lunch Carolyn shepherded the two boys to her room and asked them to play quietly so she could do the washing-up in peace. Arthur didn’t look very sleepy and she knew how eager Martin was to meet her son so she let them associate a bit before the afternoon nap.

She was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

Carolyn frowned and shook her head. Douglas left his keys at home – great. She wiped her hands in a tea towel and opened the door.

‘Hello. You must be Carolyn.’ It wasn’t Douglas, it was a young woman standing on her threshold and smiling encouragingly at her. ‘I’m Kirsten Swoon.’ She hold out a hand, still smiling.  
‘Carolyn Knapp-Shappey.’ They shook hands.  
‘Well... Can I come in?’  
‘Of course you can!’ Douglas appeared behind the girl. ‘Sorry, I’m a bit late. Hi, Kirsty.’  
‘Hi!’ Douglas kissed her on the cheek. Carolyn opened her mouth to protest against bringing random girlfriends to her flat in the middle of the day but Douglas was quicker.  
‘Could we all sit down? Great. Kirsty is here about Martin. To be precise, she is here to help us avoid the accusation that we’d kidnapped Martin or something.’  
Kirsten smiled at Carolyn. ‘Usually this is at least a three months procedure but Douglas is lucky to know me. I am in the position to speed the things up a bit...’ She winked at him. ‘I need to meet Martin and have a talk with him, of course. If he said yes, I have to check the flat but I am sure there won’t be any problem. Then there are papers to fill but don’t worry, I’ll arrange all the complicated stuff. Probably you must take Martin to a doctor for evidence about his bruises and for a check of his state of health, the usual things. We’ll keep on looking for his parents but he can stay here instead of some scary foster-home. Is that all right?'  
Carolyn finally found her voice. ‘Douglas, a word with you, please.’  
‘Yeah, right, of course. Kirsty could talk with Martin while you are... talking with me. Everybody’s talking, how marvellous.’  
‘He’s in my room.’ Carolyn nodded. ‘Probably I should show you which one it is.’  
‘No, I think I should speak to Martin first.’ Douglas got up. ‘I brought some clothes for him. His old ones are totally ruined and I gave him a yellow T-shirt...’ He caught Carolyn’s eye. ‘...and now I should shut up and go to the boys.’  
He picked up his bag and left the kitchen.

Ten minutes later he was facing a very angry Carolyn in his room.  
‘What the hell are you doing?’ She whispered vehemently. ‘Who is this girl? What has she got to do with Martin? How do you know her? What on Earth is in your mind?’  
‘Her name is Kirsten and she is in the position to help Martin. There is a so called special guardianship. It’s about looking after a child, for example, Martin, so he doesn’t have to be looked after by some local authority. This way he could have a normal family or something close to normal. Anybody can be a special guardian over eighteen who is ready to take the responsibility for the child. If two people want to volunteer, they don’t even have to be married. This is perfect, Carolyn. You have a flat and I take the responsibility. Martin can stay here! We will be his special guardians; we will look after Martin until his parents or other relatives inquire about him.’  
‘I see. You have a bee in your bonnet, big plans and everything, but actually no idea what are you going to undertake. For God’s sake, what are we supposed to do with being special guardians?’  
‘I’ve told you already. You have the flat, I only need your permission to keep Martin here. Martin will be my duty. I will do everything around him. Oh, and don’t worry about the money! Special guardianship means financial support. So there is absolutely no need to worry. Just say yes and I will take care of Martin. Well, I might need some help from you but...’  
‘You haven’t got the slightest idea about child rearing!’ Carolyn hissed.  
‘I know the basics: children need to be fed, with special care for the vegetables, they have to sleep enough to grow, they shouldn’t forget their gloves, and I can’t let them skip tooth-brushing.’  
‘I don’t think that you get the point, Douglas. This is simply not for you.’  
‘Carolyn, you're hurting me. I get on well with Arthur and Martin is a good chap, really.’  
‘Martin is a scared and lonely boy, absolutely insecure about everything, especially himself – he needs someone to look after him.’  
‘So here I am.’  
‘Oh, don’t tell me you are the mighty professor of the topic, just because you put Arthur sleep quite easily, because evening-Arthur is a piece of cake! He hasn’t reached the time yet when he will find everything on Earth more interesting than sleeping. Now he is usually tired and sleepy, so a mug of warm milk and a nice tale is enough for him. For the present. But for the future... Did you think about the future?’  
‘I am trying to settle Martin’s future with being his special guardian.’  
‘For how long? A month? A year? What if his parents never turn up? If no one comes and takes him? I am not planning to live in this flat for the rest of my life and, I guess, you can offer a bigger, nicer place as soon as you finish your school and start to work as a pilot. One day you might meet a lovely girl who can be your lovely wife and you will have your own kids. How does it sound?’  
‘How can you possibly think that I would ever throw Martin into the bin...? Carolyn, you are a single mother and you know very well that your life is not finished. You can still find a man who could be a better husband and father than Gordon was. Also, I can be a single father and I am sure that the lovely girl, whom you dreamt to me, would love Martin.’  
‘Douglas. We are talking about special guardians, not adoption or single fathers.’ She sighed. Douglas pressed his lips together. ‘I know you are determined and bloody stubborn, I am just not sure that it could work.’  
‘I take the Saturday evenings and the weekdays.’  
‘It’s not that I am afraid of... well, I am a little afraid of looking after not one but two children. I know you don’t want to press the task on me but I am not stupid. I know you have exams and everything so I would look after two boys while you are busy with university stuff. Anyway, this is not I wanted to say. What I wanted to say is that I love my Saturday evenings with Arthur. I love to tell him stories and voice his favourite toys, give him a goodnight-kiss and wrap him, then watch him fall asleep. I really, really love it.’  
‘Then here is my deal: I take the evenings, as usual, while you’re at work. You have the Saturday alone with Arthur – at least, I’ll have a private evening with Martin. I also take the afternoons when I have spare time and if you feel it’s too much to get on with two boys. For the weekends, I will look after Martin and I can always take care of Arthur if you need it. Is it alright for you?’  
‘There is no need to be dramatic, Douglas.’  
‘Is it...?’  
‘Watch out before Martin follows your suit. He doesn’t have to learn everything from you. Confine yourself to your better self.’ She smiled and patted his arm. ‘For example.. and listen carefully because I am almost sure you will never hear anything like this from me again... for example, you are just about doing something really good.’

Before the evening came they had everything settled. Kirsten promised to inform them of everything and they promised to take Martin to a doctor for control. When the door closed behind her, Douglas was eager to take Martin for a little chat, planning how good times they would have.  
‘By the way, who was she?’  
‘Kirsty is an old friend of mine.’ He answered without looking back.  
‘You mean she owed you a favour.’  
‘Don’t you believe in strong friendships?’  
‘Oh, Douglas, just shut up.’  
‘I mean, thank you, Carolyn.’

She didn’t meet Douglas for the rest of the evening. She only met Martin in the kitchen – the boy was drinking a glass of water and looked quite calm. She might have just imagined it because the yellow T-shirt was gone and the child had proper clothes now but she decided that Martin'd looked already much better.  
‘I am looking for Dr Doctor.’  
‘Who?’  
‘Arthur’s favourite bear. Have you seen it?’  
‘His name is Howdoyodo and he has gone on an adventure.’ He carefully placed his glass on the table.  
‘How do you know it?’  
‘Arthur told me.’  
Carolyn froze. ‘Really? And did he mention where he planned to go?’  
‘He said he had never been under the bed before. He said it had always looked scary.’  
‘Well, thank you... for the hint. I will check on Mr Howdoyodo before he gets in trouble. Also, I think it’s bedtime. Even for bears and adventurers.’  
‘Good night.’  
‘Good night, Martin.’


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter beta'd by the brilliant Giraffe, thank you very much.:-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay - unlike Douglas, I was quite worried about my exams.

The next morning a restless Carolyn walked into the kitchen to find a certain Douglas humming gleefully and making toast.

‘Morning, Douglas.’ She yawned.

‘Morning, Carolyn.’ Douglas glanced at the woman’s face then opened the cupboard and got the plates out. ‘You look pretty exhausted. Bad night?’

‘Not bad, I was just thinking.’ She stepped next to the man to get to the cupboard, too.

‘I’ve already taken the coffee out. It must be somewhere near...’

‘No, no, right now I need some tea. Some really strong tea.’

‘Goodness, tell me.’ He opened the fridge for the butter and the jam.

‘The thing is that Martin told me that Arthur had told him his bear is called Howdoyodo. Also, Arthur told Martin, as Martin told me, that the very bear had gone on an adventure under the bed. What do you make of it?’

‘That everybody was talking?’

‘Seriously, Douglas.’

‘Well, I don’t want to disappoint you, Carolyn...’, he started carefully, ‘but the most likely Arthur babbled something to Martin who translated it in his own way. Also, it’s good to hear they get on very well.’

‘Yes, yes, very good...’ Carolyn nodded absent-mindedly. She remained silent for a while. ‘But what if Arthur really spoke words? Not his usual little noises – but words.’

‘I still say that those words might have been just his usual-words...’

‘So you don’t believe in the possibility of that although Arthur does not speak when there are adults around, the company of an other child can change this, maybe.’

‘...or yes, maybe Arthur actually talked to him. When I asked his name, I misheard it and I thought he was called Merlin. Now, that would be really cool if he was Merlin himself.’

‘Haha, how funny. By the way, have you managed to coax his surname out of him?'

‘No. He refused to tell it even to Kirsty so he will be registered as Martin Richardson.’

‘What?’ frowned Carolyn but Douglas quickly turned his back on her and suddenly seemed to be really occupied with finding mugs.

‘Come on, just for the time he lives with me or until he will tell me his real name. He must have an identity, he can’t be _just_ Martin. And sorry, but Martin Knapp-Shappey-Richardson was too long, it wouldn’t fit into the headings.’ He explained. ‘Anyway, I am going to take Martin to the doctor today and probably for a walk after. Anything I could fetch for you?’

‘You already have my support as a special guardian, what else would you try to play at?’

‘Why do you think I am trying to be kind only because I want something?’

‘Because you are anything but the snow-white lamb.’

‘Ah, Snow White again. Did you practise the names of the seven dwarves?’

‘Shut up and check if Martin has woken up. He needs to eat. Regularly.’

‘Yes, ma’am!’

 

~‘~

 

Martin was really quiet when they left the consulting room. The doctor said there no impairment has remained from his sickness, but he ordered a regular and substantial diet for him and prescribed a poultice for his bruises. The examination was quite a shock for the kid but he did his best to behave really well. He answered every question like a good boy and even though he hid behind Douglas when they stepped into the room, at last he got on the examination table.

‘You were doing really fine today,’ Douglas complimented him. They were walking down the street, Martin practically stuck to the man’s hand, holding it in a very firm grip with his small fingers. ‘Would you like to have some fun or would you like to go home?’ The child muttered something. ‘Martin, you must have something in your mind. Tell me, we are free to do what we want and you deserve it.’

‘Are we... are we really free?’

‘Free as a teeny-weeny bird.’

A small but warm smile appeared on Martin’s face at Douglas’ choice of words, but then he knitted his eyebrows seriously. ‘Don’t you have something important and grown-up thing to do?’

‘Don’t be a Carolyn, Martin,’ the man laughed. ‘Of course, there will be days when I have to exercise and prepare for my exams, so you must stay with Carolyn and Arthur but today is not the day. And mind that anytime you need me, I’ll be there for you. No stupid training could be more important.’

‘But I need to practise, too!’

‘Really?’ Douglas was perplexed. ‘To practise - what?’

‘Flying, of course!’

‘Why?’ He stopped and tried to remember, but he just couldn’t. No, he definitely didn’t talk to Martin about his future career as a pilot. He didn’t mention flying, not a single word, he was almost sure about it.

‘Because I am going to be an aeroplane!’

Douglas’ jaw dropped and stared into Martin’s face. The boy practically beamed with joy. ‘An... an aeroplane?’ He didn’t need to fake it, he was really astonished.

‘Yes,’ Martin nodded but his enthusiasm faded a bit and now he seemed a little uncertain. ‘Did I say something wrong?’

‘No, no, this is a brilliant plan... but...’ He took a deep breath. ‘...but I am afraid you can’t be an aeroplane.’

‘Why not?’ Martin curled his lips. The poor boy was totally confused.

‘Because nobody can be an aeroplane.’

‘I could be the first one! There is always a first one.’

‘Well, not always. All right, I think we should sit down.’ They reached the park where they settled down on a boring-green bench. It reminded Douglas of the day he met the little boy whom he was about to take away his dream. Well, hopefully, not completely take it, just change it a bit. ‘So, Martin. I appreciate your ambition, but I must say, even though I am very sorry, you can’t become an aeroplane.’

‘But why not?’

_Accurate question,_ the man sighed. ‘Because they are made of metal. Are you made of metal?’

The little ginger kid examined his body carefully before answering. ‘No.’

‘Exactly. You are human. If you were a robot, maybe you could fly... but we can’t be sure so I don’t recommend you to try the android-life.’

‘Oh.’ Martin sat very disappointed and sad.

‘Oh.’ Martin sat very disappointed and sad.

‘Do you know what exams I have before me?’ The boy shook his head. Douglas leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear. ‘I am training to become a pilot. One day I will work at Air England, flying aeroplanes. Real aeroplanes.’

‘Could I... could _I_ be a pilot?’ Martin whispered back excitedly.

‘Naturally.’ Douglas smiled widely. ‘I bet if you carry on your dream and get your wings, you could be a captain one day.’

‘Really?’ The child was smiling again.

‘You can trust me on this. So...’ Douglas suddenly sprang up from the bench and picked up the boy. ‘Please, check the fuel system, Captain!’ He lifted Martin above his head. ‘And don’t forget to ask for weather report!’ He twirled twice and the kid laughed as they turned round and round. ‘Watch out for possible turbulence!’

Then he gently put the boy down and let him run free.

And Martin ran. First a bit leftwards then a little rightwards but finally he found his way, spread his arms wide with a smile even much wider on his face, and ran.

 

~’~

 

At home they found a grumpy Arthur and a little annoyed Carolyn.

‘Watch out, Captain, the oncoming storm is approaching’, Douglas whispered into Martin’s ears, making the boy giggle. ‘What is it, Carolyn? You look a bit out of humour.’

‘I am out of lemon. I remember having it in my hand then it was gone. I can’t find out where I put it down. And no, it’s not in my hand anymore. Gosh, senility is coming.’

‘And what about Arthur? He really mourns that lemon, doesn’t he?’

‘Arthur is unhappy because I had to put his beloved bear into the washing-machine where the poor animal surely became nauseous and to top it all now it is hanging on the clothesline with clothespins on its ears,’ Carolyn explained it in the same breath. Martin looked horrified. ‘Well, that’s the Law of Nature. If you are a polar bear with white fur, you can become dirty very easily when you decide to go on an adventure under the bed.’ She rubbed her face impatiently. ‘Maybe it’s the Law of Nature, too, that lemons can simply sublimate when you would like to make some tea with them.’

‘Martin, we have a job.’

The boy appeared in the doorframe. ‘What is it?’

‘Where would you hide if you were a lemon?’

‘Tricky...’

‘Come on, detective inspector, you need to find that mischievous fruit.’

‘May I ask Arthur to help me?’

‘Certainly.’ So Martin took Arthur’s hand and they headed for Carolyn’s room, while Douglas visited his own room to change his clothes.

Half an hour later the boys wandered back to the kitchen. Douglas sat next to the table, reading a book while Carolyn was occupied with checking the cleaning supplies under the sink, noting that she needed some new sponges. When the children entered, she turned around without geeting up from where she was crouching.

‘Have you found the lemon, Martin?’

‘Yes!’

‘Great. Where is it?’

‘I am afraid I can’t tell you. The rules might forbid it.’

‘What rules? What are you talking about? And why don’t you just give it to me?’

‘Because... b-because...’ Martin blushed. He had a strong desire to hide his face in his hands and run away. ‘I thought... I thought it was a... a... it was a game.’

Carolyn counted to ten and sighed. ‘All right. Can you just tell me where you two put it?’

‘I don’t want to disappoint you, but it would be no help for you to know where Arthur and Martin hid the lemon. You know, the thing is the lemon has moved on.’ Douglas put down his book with a smug look on his face.

‘Did it grow tiny legs and run?’ The woman asked patiently.

‘No, but the game is on.’

‘You are driving me up the wall.’

‘I think I should ask Arthur’s bear to make its bet: who will find the lemon first? The boys or you?’

‘I am not playing.’

‘Oh, yes, you are.’

Douglas was right, as usual. Carolyn played and the lemon travelled until she was almost late for her evening shift. She started at six o’clock and finished at midnight in the Cinnamon Cloud Bar (mostly known as ‘The Cinna’). It wasn’t such a lovely place as its name would suggest, but it could have been worse and Carolyn was grateful to have a workplace where it was tolerated to be a single mother.

 

While Carolyn was at work, Douglas at home had some difficulties with their dinner. Difficulties like, for example, they didn’t have anything for dinner.

‘Right.’ He practically dove into the fridge. ‘Let me see... Gentlemen, we have bread and cheese!’

‘I love cheese.’ Martin assured him quickly.

‘Me, too,’ Douglas smiled at the boy. ‘Which means, as this flat seems to be the base for cheese-fans anonymus, we will run out of cheese quickly so I think we should go and do the shopping tomorrow. I know, I know, the most exciting way to spend a day: see the doctor, do the shopping, help me with feeding Arthur...’

‘Why, I like it.’

‘We could do the shopping tonight.’

‘Are there any shops open at night?’

‘Surely. This city is certainly a big one.’

‘But Arthur is tired, he needs to sleep.’ Martin pointed out.

‘Oi, don’t be such a spoil-sport!’

‘I am sorry.’ The boy hung his head. Douglas immediately regretted saying what he said. Martin trusted him – why taking it away with being nasty?

‘Don’t be. You are right and Carolyn would chop my head off if Arthur didn’t get enough sleep.’ Martin’s eyes fell. ‘But you aren’t afraid of Carolyn, are you?’

‘No?’

‘Because there is no need to be. She is kind – actually, she has a kinder heart than me.’

‘I think you two both have equally kind hearts.’

‘Speaking of which... I know a very good tale about King Richard the Lionheart and Robin Hood who crossed the line in order to do good.’

‘But crossing the line...’

‘...is not right, I know. Except you should never not do it because you’re afraid of someone. You need to mind the rules, Martin, especially if you really want to be a pilot. You must be safe and dependable. But not because you are told to be, but because you feel it’s the right way to do things.’ Douglas ruffled the child’s ginger hair then picked up Arthur. ‘Gentlemen, ready for bed?’

He felt like a hypocrite. A little. He taught Martin something he didn’t usually do. He could have mind the rules, too, but it was more exciting to break them. Of course, he had to set an example if he didn’t want to have all his bones broken by Carolyn with all the kindness of her heart.

 

~’~

 

As days went by, Martin’s nightmares didn’t disappear but lessened. He didn’t wake up every night and when he did, Douglas’ singing always comforted him. He particularly liked the song ‘It’s A Long Way To Tipperary’, Douglas couldn’t understand why as it wasn’t something especially cheerful. It wasn’t sad or anything but he just couldn’t get it into his mind why would a six years old boy love a song of the First World War so much...?

’Who is this Molly in the song?’ Martin was fond of the song and also quite eager to learn.

‘She is Paddy’s sweetheart.’ Douglas tried to explain.

‘ _Sweetheart_? What does it mean?’

‘It’s someone who is sweet to your heart. That you love her or him very much.’

‘Like I love you and Carolyn and Arthur?’

‘Well, not exactly... Your sweetheart is someone whom you want to marry. While I love you like you were my... erm... son.’


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the wonderful Giraffe. Thank you again and again!
> 
> I swear I wrote this chapter before Wokingham happened.

March brought a soft and sweet air, some bright green leaves and the promise of a rainy April. The four residents of the little flat got completely used to each other. They lived together, not only shared a flat. Sometimes all four of them had programmes together – small and simple ones, like going to the playground, listening to the radio and doing the shopping. Twice they visited the zoo (Martin couldn’t take his eyes off the broad wings of eagles and Arthur was obsessed about polar bears and camels) and once on a Saturday evening Martin managed to talk the two adults into reading them a bed-time story together. They did the voices, of course.

One bright and dry day Arthur was taking his afternoon nap while Martin was drawing aeroplanes in Douglas’ room. The adults sat in the kitchen, enjoying a little rest before the boys would recuperate their energy.

The doorbell rang. Douglas looked up from his cross-word, Carolyn didn’t even bother herself with looking up. ‘Who on Earth can it be?’

‘Maybe Santa Claus is paying us an early visit,’ Joked Douglas, calling forth a snort from Carolyn.

Apparently, it wasn’t Santa Claus.

Kirsten Swoon stood on the doorstep.

‘Hello, Kirsty.’ Douglas smiled widely. ‘A quick check on us, I guess?’

‘Hiya.’ She smiled back weakly. ‘No, I am afraid it’s not that simple.’

‘What’s wrong?’ Douglas scowled and Carolyn decided to put the kettle on.

‘Could we all sit down, please?’ They could. ‘Good.’ Kirsten carefully examined her hands laying on the table. Then she looked up, folding her hands together. ‘Well, you were appointed to be Martin’s special guardians until his relatives pop up... and now this just happened. As it happens, Martin’s father reported to the police that his son went missing, you found him and now these actions come together. Hooray. Martin can go home.’

‘And that’s all?’ Douglas asked. ‘Are you sure the man is Martin’s father? For a hundred percent? We haven’t met him or anything so shouldn’t we talk about the boy with him?’

‘Yes, I am sure and no, you won’t meet him. He has every important documents, like birth certificate, and photos of Martin and also, their similarity is obvious.’

‘Which means that now we know Martin’s surname.’ Carolyn pointed out.

‘Yes, I know, no, you don’t and won’t know. I mustn’t tell you.’ Douglas tried to interrupt but Kirsty waved him to stay silent. ‘Martin’s father wants to keep everything quiet. Start a new life with his children, without his wife. I mustn’t tell you this one, but you might have guessed already that Martin has at least one abusive parent. Well... as it seems, Martin’s mother is a very short-tempered woman, in a quite aggressive way...’

‘Quite aggressive?! Just take a look at Martin’s back! That woman is mental.’

‘The thing is, she abused Martin, but she didn’t hurt her other children or at least she didn’t cause permanent bruises on them.’

‘Oh, great.’ Douglas knitted his eyebrows. ‘Wait a minute. Have you just said that Martin has brothers?’

‘Well, yes, he has but I shouldn’t tell you this. Not at all.’ Kirsten shook her head desperately. ‘So, Martin’s mother wasn’t a good one and Martin’s father often planned to leave her but he didn’t want to go without his children. Neither he had the money to keep them all.’

‘But he didn’t...?’ Douglas rose from his chair.

‘No, he didn’t run away with Martin’s brothers leaving the boy behind.’ Kirsty assured him quickly. Douglas sat back. ‘They lived together, the father had a job, the mother had a job – it wasn’t a happy family life, tho’. Then she lost her job which didn’t really make her kinder. She started to drink, regularly, but she was clever not to leave the house without at least one of her children. I think she didn’t want to risk to go home and find an empty flat. On New Year’s Eve she took Martin with her but she was already drunk and the boy got lost and... well, you can imagine. The father packed up the others, they left the house on the very first day of the new year and he reported his wife to the police. You know, because Martin has gone missing while his mother should have watched him, she is going to be called to account and the children are going to stay with their father. I doubt that they would let her see or visit the kids. But you don’t know about this and you definitely did not hear anything about this from me!’ She took a deep breath and straightened her hair. ‘That’s the story. Now the father wants his son back. Also, he is very grateful to you for looking after Martin.’

‘I will show him where to put his thanks.’ Douglas grunted and rubbed his knuckles.

‘Douglas!’ Kirsty warned him in a gentle tone. ‘I mustn’t have told you any of this. They would fire me if it comes out that I had told you details... Please, try to understand the father’s motives. He wants to move with the children, leave the city and their old life behind. He doesn’t want his wife to harass them so he really doesn’t want everyone in the city to know everything.’

‘We are not everyone! We care about Martin, of course we would like to know that he is going to be all right.’

‘He is going to be all right. His father seems to be a good man, even though he is maybe not so... so... self-confident.’

‘He is a bloody coward!’ Douglas hissed between his teeth.

‘I am sorry, but he is Martin’s father.’

‘Well, I am sorry, too.’ The man rubbed his face then suddenly turned to Carolyn. ‘Why don’t you say something? Go and tell Martin’s father he doesn’t know a single thing about child rearing. Or anything.’

‘For God’s sake, what could I say?’

‘I don’t know. Your usual stuff. Because right now she is saying that Martin’s father suddenly became interested in his own son and our services are no longer required so it’s time for us to vanish from Martin’s life.’ He turned back to Kirsten. ‘I know you meant to be delicate and I truly appreciate it. But you are trying to say that we can’t see Martin anymore, aren’t you?’

The girl looked apologetically into his eyes. ‘I am sorry, Douglas, but you are right. Martin’s father wouldn’t like his son to be constantly reminded of the traumas of the past, so he is planning to start a whole new life. You must accept this. For Martin, please.’

‘All right. Well, no, it’s not right, but okay.’ He sighed. ‘But I am going to be the one who tells him.’

‘Fine.’ The girl nodded.

 

Martin was in Douglas’ room, working hard on his drawing, his tongue sticking out. He sat on the floor, his back turned to the door and Douglas silently watched him for a while before coughing a little. The boy raised his head and quickly turned around with a warm smile on his face. He smiled more and more often and Douglas felt pride when he saw one of those smiles.

He sat on the edge of the bed and patted the blanket to invite the kid sit next to him.

‘Martin, do you remember Kirsty?’ The child nodded as he climbed to the bed. ‘She is here. She came to tell you that...’ He shook his head and tried again. ‘Do you think of your father, Martin? Do you miss him?’

‘Why?’

‘Because he, your father, misses you. And he...’ Douglas took a deep breath. ‘He would like you to go home and live with him. I mean, with him and your brothers.’

‘And?’

‘That’s all. You and your father and your brothers.’ He managed to force a smile on his face. Martin was the one who mattered, not his own selfishness. ‘Kirsty came to take you to him. Okay? You’re going home. Back to your father.’ He patted the boy’s shoulder. ‘Is this alright for you?’

‘Yes. I think it is. All right.’ Martin nodded slowly.

‘Right.’ Douglas stood up. ‘I will help you with the packing. Okay? I’m sure that you will be fine.’ He started to pick up T-shirts and sweaters and child’s pyjamas. ‘Yeah, I’m quite sure. You are a fine boy. You need to trust yourself, that’s all. Okay? Keep this one in your mind.’ He made a mental note not to leave Martin’s toothbrush in the bathroom. ‘Also, I’m glad I met you. We had a funny time together, eh? Short but funny. Also... I think...’

‘You’re babbling.’ Martin pointed out.

‘Yeah.’

‘That’s my role.’

‘Yeah, probably.’ Douglas smiled. ‘Okay, I’ll fetch your stuff from the bathroom. Meet you in the kitchen.’ He took a step forward but stopped. ‘And Martin...’ He slowly turned back and looked seriously at the child. Then he shook his head slightly. ‘Don’t forget your coat. It’s still cold outside.’

 

Carolyn remained silent and Douglas didn’t want to argue anymore. It was quick and sudden, but he just held Martin’s hand while they walked down the street to where a car was waiting for them. Carolyn brought down the still sleepy Arthur, too, to wave goodbye.

Next to the car Douglas was stunned to hear that he couldn’t go with Martin.

‘I’ll take care of him.’ Kirsten patted his arm sympathetically. ‘Sorry, but it’ll make everything easier.’

‘I know. For Martin.’ He nodded.

‘And for you.’ She opened the door. ‘Thank you, Douglas. Ring me sometimes, okay?’

‘I will. And thank _you_ , Kirsty. You helped a lot. And thank you for doing one more thing for me.’

‘Which is?’

‘Give me one moment, all right? Just one.’

‘Okay. Go and say goodbye, I’ll be in the car.’

Martin hugged Carolyn once more, shook Arthur’s little hand, making him giggle, and let the woman place a kiss on the top of his head. Then he slowly walked to Douglas. The man squatted down to meet the boy’s eyes.

 ‘Thank you.’ Martin hugged the man so now he could mutter into his shoulder. ‘For... for everything. I’ll miss you. You, Arthur, Carolyn... and Howdoyodo, of course. And the spider behind the drawer who hasn’t got a name, yet, because Arthur hasn’t found it out... I’ll miss everyone from the castle... erm... the flat... But especially you.’

‘If anything happens, you know where to find me.’ The man said seriously before an impish grin appeared on his face. ‘Or just sing your song and I will go for you.’

‘Do you think I am going to be fine?’

 Douglas loosened the hug to look into Martin’s eyes again. ‘What did you want to be when you came here?’

‘An aeroplane.’

‘And what do you want to be now?’

‘A pilot.’

‘Good.’ He ruffled the boy’s ginger hair.

‘Will I meet you again?’

‘Are you going to be a pilot?’

‘Yes!’

‘Then meet you at Air England.’ He winked before he straightened. ‘Don’t forget to ask for a weather report, Captain. You’ve got a long way to go.’ He opened the car’s door for him. ‘Good bye, Martin.

‘Good bye!’

They waved after the boy until they couldn’t see the little green car which taken him away anymore.

 

‘His mother abused him.’ Carolyn muttered dumbfoundedly when they were back in the flat. She caught Douglas’ eyes. ‘You knew it.’

‘I didn’t _know_ but yes, I had my suspicions.’

‘How could she...?’ She shook her head to cast the image away.

‘You know that bad fathers exist. Also, there are bad mothers. Martin’s is a really bad one.’

‘You mean the mother.’

‘Yeah, I probably mean her.’

 

They lived together for a bit more time in that flat. Douglas carried the spare mattress back to its original place and he slept in his bed again. Sometimes he did the shopping for all of them, but he kept in mind to buy for only three, not four. Carolyn still had her job at the bar with her free evening on every Saturday and Douglas went back to his dating habits. For a while Arthur did small things that gave Carolyn the impression that he missed his little playmate but he still didn’t say a word. By the time he formed his first words, Douglas was far away from them, living his own life.

Douglas finished his CPL exams, got his first job as a pilot and moved out of the flat to his own. Carolyn decided to sell the flat, start the divorce procedure and drain every single drop of blood from Gordon. Metaphorically, of course. After leaving the flat, neither of them aimed to phone or visit the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not yet the end." (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's still not a Christmas story but...
> 
> "Then one foggy Christmas Eve,  
> Santa came to say:  
> Rudolph with your nose so bright,  
> Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
> 
> Sleigh or aeroplane, does it matter?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the Giraffe - thank you!

After many years, two wives, a daughter, some alcohol problems and being fired from Air England, Douglas met Carolyn again. They must have bumped each other on the street absolutely accidentally because they wouldn’t have picked up the phone to call the other, not for toffee, even if Douglas knew about Carolyn’s aeroplane from her divorce and the woman knew about her ex-lodger being a pilot. He needed a job, she needed an employee, so when they met once again in their life, they made a new deal. Like in the old days, except that nobody mentioned the old days. Not even Arthur. Douglas suspected that Arthur simply didn’t remember anything, but even then,  he didn’t make any effort to make him remember.

It was a bit strange to meet the grown-up Arthur. Well, not really grown-up, just bigger than the last time he saw him. And much more talkative. Although Carolyn hadn’t prophesied a Nobel Prize for Arthur, sometimes Douglas felt sure that the boy should get the Nobel Peace Prize. He might be a clot, but a good-hearted one. The three of them got along well, again.

Then Captain Crieff appeared, a living statue of memento. He was red-headed, he was a pilot and he was called Martin. What a coincidence. He was the perfect age to be “his” Martin, too. Way too much of a coincidence, actually.

Douglas didn’t hate him - he _couldn’t_ hate him -, he only hated the coincidence: he was a pilot with red hair and he was called Martin. He would have liked to hate him, it would have been easier because Martin always reminded him of that little boy from New Year’s Eve. Maybe because it was too much of a coincidence he couldn’t hate him. Douglas mocked his captain, sometimes he was really cruel to him, but somewhere deep in his heart he considered the young man as something very close to a friend.

Qikitarjuaq was the worst. That unnecessary rivalry upon professionalism – why did Martin always have to doubt himself? He made everything complicated. Also, _his_ Martin surely would have played Travelling Lemon because he liked the game, not because he had a low self-esteem. And after everything, Arthur wasn’t very happy that Douglas scared the bears. He always had a soft spot for bears, especially for the polar ones.

Aside from these small fights, they got on quite well. Sometimes Martin managed to evoke some disturbing memories from Douglas with his innocent chatting.

Like when they waited for Mr Goddard to turn up, they hit some very personal topics.

’Why do they always think  _you're_  the captain, Douglas?’  
’Oh, that's easy. 'cause I don't care.  _Captains_  don't care. I've been a first officer, then a captain, then a first officer again. All the same to me. So long as you're happy, who gives a toss how many rings there are on your sleeve? Whereas you always look like you  _want_  to be the captain, so people assume you can't be one. You've got to lose that look.’  
’But I have always wanted to be an airline captain.’ Martin confessed.  
’Really?’  
’Yes, ever since I was six.’  
’Oh, and before that?’  
’I wanted to be an aeroplane.’  
’I see.’ Douglas nodded, but he really didn’t want to _see_ it. As a matter of fact, it was the very last thing he wanted to hear from _this_ Martin.

Or there was that unimaginably long trip to Limerick. (Well, your journey can be really long if you try to approach it from Hong Kong.)

’Why does Tipperary always get the blame for it being a long way to go?’ Chatted Martin. ‘It's an even longer way to Limerick.’

’Only by about that 30 miles.’ Douglas said a bit absent-mindedly.

’Don't suppose they sing about it much there then.’

’What? Where?’ Suddenly the elder man was awaken from his thoughts.

’It's a long way to Tipperary. In Limerick, well, they probably have their own version. It's a short way to Tipperary. I'm just popping up there now actually. Can I get you anything?’

’They're certainly both a hell of  a long way from Hong Kong.’ It was all that Douglas managed to reply. Why must Limerick be so damn close to Tipperary?

By that time Douglas had three ex-wives, he has been a teetotaller for eight years and he still kept among the photos of his daughter a drawing left on his old room’s floor by a little ginger boy. The picture was the one Martin was drawing on the day he left, forgotten in the sudden turn of events, not completely finished (he only coloured half of it) – Douglas found it a day later and decided to keep it. Of course.

He turned a blind eye on many things, until he gave in.

They were on a flight to Barcelona when Arthur rushed to the flight-deck and announced that one of the passengers wanted to set the plane on fire.

‘Tell him not now,’ was the good-natured First Officer’s reaction.

‘Douglas, this is serious!’ Martin hissed, standing up from his seat. ‘But anyway, as I am the Captain  I have to deal with this.’

He returned with bleeding lips.

‘Not successful or too successful?’ Douglas asked, but with a twitch in his stomach. He had enough of hurt Martins for a lifetime.

‘Apparently, as the man is not only mental, but twice my size both in height and weight, my... authority, so to say, suddenly ceased to exist... and he simply got rid of me, yes.’ He tumbled into his seat and buried his face in his hands.

‘Can I offer a handkerchief to Sir?’

Martin sighed and looked up. ‘All right, Douglas, I know you can settle everything so please, could you just go and bloody settle everything like right now?!’

Douglas was glad that his captain wasn’t crying. He was also glad that his captain actually trusted him and finally reached the level of asking-for-help-when-I-can-not-handle-something-really-serious. Martin managed to grow up before Arthur, not too late, in his thirties, hooray.

So Douglas went and won. He tricked the temperamental man into playing charades with Arthur (he would have liked to avoid the fire extinguisher this time) and by the time they reached the airport, the necessary arrangements were taken and the medical staff was waiting for the _inflammable_ passenger.

‘It was brilliant!’ Arthur beamed. ‘He can mime fire in fifty different ways!’

‘Brilliant, yeah, totally.’ Martin mumbled. ‘Anyhow... erm... thanks, Douglas.’

‘Sir is welcome. I am always ready to help Arthur to some charades if he doesn’t play it with me.’

‘Because you’re such a good knight of the king.’

It was really simple. Douglas decided this one was his Martin, and that was all. Well, he needed to share this little pice of information with Carolyn... and with Martin himself. He wanted to talk to Carolyn first, because he always considered her as someone who could be  almost easily handled. Favourite fellow-soldier forever.

‘Carolyn...’ As soon as they were back at Fitton, he asked her to see him in the portacabin. He wanted to tell her very carefully. He didn’t want to give her an emotional shock or something like that. ‘Do you remember the Martin we had once?’ Now, that sounded a bit weird. Not the brightest sentence of his life, surely.

‘Oh my goodness, Douglas, finally,’ Carolyn sighed.

‘Pardon?’

‘If you remember, I was Martin’s special guardian, too. Your good old friend Kirsten gave me her number. So I rang her to tell how mysterious ways life moves and how we finally met Martin again. I thought of an excuse for bothering her if he wasn’t _our_ Martin. But when she said she was happy about this nice little reunion, I knew I was right. Yes, I know _this_ Martin is _that_ Martin. How did I figure it out? I observed our little captain and I guessed.’

‘When have you planned to tell me this?’

‘If you never find out? Never. It might be a surprise but I care about Martin and I don’t want to mess up his head. If you’d totally forgot him, I wouldn’t have told him anything, not a single word. It really wouldn’t make him happier to know that once he had a friend who absolutely deleted him from his memories.’

‘But I didn’t forget him!’ Douglas protested.

‘Surely, you just acted like you had forgotten _him_ because it was easier, wasn’t it?’ It wasn’t Carolyn who snapped at Douglas. It sounded more like a low and, for the moment, out-of-humour airline captain.

The mixture of annoyance and resentment on Martin’s face was the very best reason why Douglas wanted to talk to Carolyn first.


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay - but I won't be late anymore as this is the last chapter of the story.  
> Beta'd by the Giraffe. Thank you!

‘I will shut the door behind me,’ Carolyn announced. Martin nodded and stepped out of her way.

The two men were left alone in the portacabin. They felt awkward. Only in soap operas it’s easy to confront someone about being your special guardian a long time ago but forgetting you as the years passed by. It’s also not too easy to look into your grown-up protégé’s eyes and be witty when you feel guilty. Even if you are not sure why you feel guilty.

‘So...’

‘Er... Martin...’

They spoke and fell silent at the same time.

‘So?’ Martin asked a bit vaguely.

‘So...’ Douglas hawked. ‘Martin, I’d like you to know that I haven’t forgotten you. The thing is, you never said anything... you never mentioned it...’

‘Of course I didn’t!’ The young man yelped.

‘...and I didn’t know it was you.’

‘So you forgot me!’ Martin snapped.

Douglas frowned. ‘Actually, I think _you_ forgot me.’

‘No, I didn’t.’ He shifted uncomfortably.’ I just thought you were imaginary.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Well... I was very young when I met you and Carolyn and Arthur, and it was a very short time...’

‘Two months.’

‘Yes... And that time was really, um, troubled. Dad left mother and started a divorce so everybody’s nerves were on edge. We moved to another town and later, when I asked about you, they denied it. Dad always explained carefully that mother lost me on New Year’s Eve, then I fell ill and you were surely just a dream.’

‘And you believed it?’ Douglas gaped.

‘What else could I have done? He was my father. You don’t often presume that your father would lie to you, do you?’ He shrugged. ‘I found you so... so familiar. When I came to MJN-Air, I mean. I just liked you all on the spot. But I thought it would sound very... silly to tell you that you reminded me of my imaginary family.’ His face turned a deep shade of red. ‘Of course, Arthur wouldn’t think it silly but... well, you know me. Also, sometimes you... confused me.’ He looked everywhere but Douglas’ eyes.

‘How?’ The elder man wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.

‘I don’t mind the mocking and the teasing, really... Someone with red hair and freckles should be used to it by now.’ A nervous laughter escaped his lips. ‘School prepares for Life with a capital L... and children can be mean to each other...’ He felt he was starting to get mixed up in his own train of thought. ‘So, yes, I was unlucky and quite clumsy in my entire life, you can imagine... or you don’t have to... Gosh, I immediately caught a cold after spending a few hours outdoors on New Year’s Eve...!’

‘Nobody has to be especially unlucky to catch a cold in the middle of winter.’ Douglas remarked.

‘Well, yes, okay, maybe. The thing I want to say is... I know I can be very rude sometimes... and yes, annoying, I know how you roll your eyes when I am rambling about rules, don’t try to deny it. So, I guess it’s not a surprise you never mentioned it...’

‘I’ve already told you: I wasn’t sure.’

‘You weren’t sure or you didn’t want to be sure?’

‘How could I have been sure?’

‘So you forgot me.’ Martin nodded.

‘Don’t start it again!’ Douglas cried a bit impatiently. ‘You know that’s not true. I never forgot you.’

‘But you never asked.’ The younger man said under his breath. Douglas mutely counted to ten.

‘Still asking, how could I have known? When we first met here, at MJN Air, I had a slight impression but I wasn’t sure and I just...’

‘Of course, the world is full of ginger boys, dreaming of being a pilot!’ Martin laughed bitterly. ‘Oh, I am sorry, I thought I was special. But do you know what? I am not. Once I believed I could be _someone_ , but I was mistaken. My mother hated me, my father never believed I could be a proper pilot, and Caitlin and Simon were always better at everything, they were just born that way! Yes, once I was a boy who believed he could be an airline captain, but now I am a grown-up and I am nothing but a ridiculous man with a van and a hat!’

‘Actually, I am proud of you, Martin.’ Douglas put his hand on the shorter man’s shoulder. He was glad that Martin didn’t shake it off. ‘You did an excellent job. You never gave up your dream, you became an actual pilot and at last, you found us. You didn’t let us stay alone, and now I promise you that you won’t be alone anymore. Once I promised to protect you, and I will never break my word. Maybe I wasn’t always with you, but I knew that if I’d ever found you, I would be proud of you.’ His voice cracked. ‘Sorry that I didn’t ask. I’m terribly, truly sorry, Martin.’

‘It’s f-fine. Sorry for the shouting.’ Martin silently added: ‘But you really could have asked.’

‘I didn’t want to risk that... I didn’t want to ruin it with... The thing is that I thought... I thought you would despise me for being an ex-alcoholic.’

Martin seemed to be at a loss of words for an entire minute, gaping like a fish freshly taken out of a lake. ‘You didn’t want to risk to ask because you were afraid of _me_ thinking poorly of you?’ He asked when he finally managed to find his voice. More or less. ‘How could I...? How can you imagine me...? Douglas!’

‘Oh, I don’t have a clue... Like I got sacked from Air England for smuggling, I became a drinker, I got married three times and all of them ended with a divorce, and, to tell you the truth, I am really not the best father.’

Martin smiled sadly. ‘I don’t know. I always thought you were very good father-material.’

Then suddenly Martin started to cry.

Douglas only saw him cry when the boy was tormented by nightmares, and on their way to Boston, when smoke got into Martin’s eyes. On the flight he helped with an advice, against the nightmares he listened to his instincts. He might have felt shocked but his instincts still worked, so he decided to choose a very old problem-solving method: he simply hugged the other man. Martin didn’t protest, on the contrary, he returned the embrace.

‘I really screwed it up, didn’t I?’ He sobbed.

Douglas felt more and more stunned. ‘What? Why? No! Of course not. How could I explain...? Well, quite simply, I guess. Martin, _you_ made me and Carolyn friends. We’ve always got on well, but you came into our lives and changed it. _You_ changed us and we can’t thank you enough. Funnily enough, you seem to be a fixed point in my life. Despite that, from time to time I found myself completely alone.’

‘So did I.’

‘So... you didn’t find your Molly.’

‘No. Not yet.’

‘Then hurry up, Captain, I can’t wait to babysit your children.’ Douglas patted Martin’s back. ‘But first of all, please, calm down, or Carolyn will believe that I hurt you and she will surely kill me.’

_Carolyn’s always had a kinder heart,_ he thought.

There was a chance that one day Martin might get married: even babbling, redhead boys can find their better half, lucky or not. Also, one day the boy might find an actual paid job at another airline, leaving them behind once more, but for now Douglas had him. For two more months or for years, he didn’t know, but it didn’t matter because he was determined not to lose sight of him again.

He released his captain so Martin could fish out a tissue from his pocket to dry his face and blow his nose with his usual but nice awkwardness. Like this he reminded his first officer of his “little boy Martin”-self so much that a warm feeling started to spread in the older man’s chest. _A friggin’ mother hen,_ Douglas sighed mentally.

‘By the way, how is your attic?’ He asked because a mother hen always has to check on the little chickens.

‘I still have it, the same old attic. But as I heard we have a new student downstairs. Logan or what’s his name.’

‘I meant, are you still fine to live there?’

‘Knock-knock,’ The two men turned around to find Carolyn on the doorstep with an Arthur on tiptoes behind her. They didn’t hear when she opened the door. ‘How are you?’

‘Perfectly fine, thank you,’ Douglas answered. ‘We are discussing housing questions, actually. You might be interested.’

‘Douglas, you are not planning to share a flat, are you?’

‘Well, since you have mortgages on your house, and Arthur still lives with you, while I am lonely in a large house because my wife left me, and Martin plays the friendly ghost in the attic of a student house... You could think about it. Really, it was nice being flatmates.’

‘Last time we shared a flat, I was your landlady.’ Carolyn reminded him.

‘Always so harsh to me. Carolyn, you pain me if you throw my offer down the drain.’

‘Shut up, we’ll talk about this later.’

‘Brilliant!’ Arthur squeaked happily and Martin couldn’t help a smile.

Carolyn decided to withdraw quickly with her kind heart and all. ‘Arthur, I think that now we’ve found out that everything is fine, we should check that snow that the radio promised for today afternoon.’

‘Brilliant!’ Arthur whooped again, but no one made a comment.

By the time the two men were left alone again, they didn’t feel awkward anymore. Well, Douglas wanted to ask something that could sound a bit awkward but he was curious:

’Did your father sing to you?’

’No. Even when he tried, he only made a… well, a rather _wood-y_ sound.’

’I see.’ Douglas nodded. He hesitated a bit before he continued. ‘Because, you know, I heard it was a long way to Tipperary...’

‘Hey, chaps, come on!’ Arthur practically burst the door open. ‘It’s really snowing! We have to build a snowman. I have got two pink bottle caps for the eyes. Well, I only could find pink ones, so I suppose, it will be a snow-woman... Hey, we could call her Snow White! But then we should build all the seven dwarves. Plus Loopy, who doesn’t exist, actually, but he is Mum’s favourite. Anyway, snowmen are brilliant!’

He rushed out to the snow, leaving the door wide open.

Martin stared at Douglas. ‘Are you sure it’s not the apocalypse coming?’

‘Why?’

‘Well... you know... Snow!’

‘Come on, don’t be so alarmed because once in a time it’s snowing instead of raining.’

‘Oh... Okay.’

Martin slowly stood up, carefully placing his hat on his head and putting it straight, then grinned at Douglas.

‘I thought it would be a nice target if you were planning a snowball battle.’

‘Good Lord, what do you think of me?’ Douglas smirked, and decided to follow the ginger man. One can’t miss a snow-woman with pink eyes, can he?

Martin was already on the doorstep, when his First Officer and special guardian stopped him.

‘Martin!’

‘Yes?’

‘Don’t forget your coat.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks to everyone who followed the story and didn't give up despite delays, grammatical and spelling mistakes... so despite every writing crime I committed. I loved to write this little AU (or whatever it was), I hope you enjoyed reading it.


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